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Saturday, January 31, 2009

Lethe Studio Update

Psychedelic stoner rock duo Lethe have just released an update on Mnemosyne, their upcoming debut full-length for Reptile Records. Lethe is a two-man project that was started by Dylan Desmond and Joe Proffitt of Samothrace in 2004. They enlisted a score of friends and guest musicians to aid in the completion of Mnemosyne, including contributions from John Momberg (who has played with Unwed Sailor, Kelpie, Appleseed Cast, and Koufax), JC Cirese (The Old Black), Mat Grader (The Cosmopolitics), and Adam Kruckenberg on synth/noise. Samothrace drummer Joe Proffitt handles all the guitars and plays the didgeridoo on the song "Open Harvest," while Samothrace bassist and part-time Battlefields touring member Dylan Desmond holds it down on bass.

Desmond checked in from the band`s home base of Lawrence, KS:

"This album has been a long time coming, so I`m really excited to have it in my hands! It was recorded at Black Lodge studio and Mixtape Soundlabs in Lawrence, Kansas by Eric Graves from The Esoteric. By the time we finished up recording the last tracks, both Joe and I were really pleased with everything we`d done. For me, the most exciting thing about finishing the album up is that we can tour around with an actual release as opposed to a handmade demo."

"The album is going to be called Mnemosyne, which is a river that, in ancient Greek mythology, is believed to reverse the effect of the Lethe river (which itself causes amnesia). We like the idea of implying two opposing viewpoints between the title and the band name. Also they`re both totally unpronounceable, which is kinda frustrating I guess, but still a little funny!"

On their partnership with Reptile Records:

"Gavin at Reptile Records had been sending us emails inquiring about our demo for some time before it was finished; his label deals pretty much exclusively with instrumental rock bands, so we fit the bill. It`s been great working with him! Right from the get go we`ve been on the same page with Gavin on a lot of things; he recommended that we use Tom Denny for the layout, and we`d already discussed using him for merchandise so that was easy. Also, Tom`s done a great job, as we`d anticipated."

In regards to Lethe`s upcoming move to Seattle, WA and the band`s touring plans for 2009:

"It was a plan long in the works... My other band Samothrace is moving there too. Basically, we`re looking to be somewhere that jobs are easier to find that still caters to underground music the way Lawrence does. No extreme weather is nice, and a big music scene is really nice! Lawrence is small town, which makes the really loyal music scene there somewhat small as well. It also makes it difficult in the matter of finding other musicians when one of our regulars is off with another band or working or whatever. We`ve got a lot of friends in Seattle and the Northwest and it seemed like the best choice. As far as touring goes, there`s nothing confirmed yet, but we`ll most likely do a West Coast tour by summer. Also, we`ll do a number of shows around Lawrence/Kansas City after the album is released. "